U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke hosted a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry (MOTI), Mr. Rachid Mohamed Rachid, at the Commerce Department today. This was the first meeting between the Secretary and Minister Rachid.

Secretary Locke and Minister Rachid confirmed the importance of further strengthening the U.S.-Egypt commercial relationship and continuing to deepen cooperation on trade and investment issues. Egypt is one of the largest markets for U.S. exports in the Middle East, buying $6 billion of U.S. goods in 2008.

Secretary Locke and Minister Rachid expressed support for removing barriers to trade, including reducing structural barriers to entrepreneurship and increasing enforcement of intellectual property rights protections in Egypt. They agreed that increasing bilateral trade ties has the potential to provide significant benefits to manufacturers, service providers, farmers, ranchers, and workers both in the United States and in Egypt.

Immediately following the meeting, Secretary Locke and Minister Rachid signed a Memorandum of Intent in Support of the U.S.-Egypt Business Leaders Forum. The Forum will work to promote U.S.-Egypt cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including: business and skills development; promoting entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity; commercialization of new technologies; and physical infrastructure development.

“The Memorandum of Intent we signed today is an important step toward realizing the goal of deepening ‘ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world,’ that President Obama laid out in his speech in Cairo,” said Secretary Locke.